Bridging the gap between mining and people
- Wits University
The unveiling of the Wits Sibanye-Stillwater Innovation bridge represents an enduring investment in human capital and future engineering skills.
Wits University and Sibanye-Stillwater (tickers JSE: SSW and NYSE: SBSW) have launched the newly refurbished and rebranded Wits Sibanye-Stillwater Innovation bridge ('the Innovation bridge'), a Wits Centenary Project funded by Sibanye-Stillwater.
The launch on 12 July 2023 was accompanied by an additional commitment of R51 million from Sibanye-Stillwater to Wits for study bursaries, learnerships within the Group’s mining operations, graduate internship programmes and staff development within the Wits Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE).
The refurbished Innovation bridge is both a symbol of the past and a gateway to the future. It represents shared value and a strengthening of the partnership forged in 2014, for good.
The launch comes at an opportune time as Wits celebrated its centenary in 2022 and Sibanye-Stillwater celebrates 10 years in 2023.
Shared value, for good
Since 2014, Sibanye-Stillwater has enabled over 500 students to study at Wits by providing bursaries and allowances amounting to R19.4 million. In addition, the Group has contributed R68.5 million in funding for the DigiMine, with a further R5.5 million committed for 2023, and has donated R50 million worth of technical equipment to the FEBE.
“The Sibanye-Stillwater Wits partnership symbolises the fusion of industry and academia, as we join forces to shape the future of mining and create a lasting positive impact on our planet. It is a commitment to the shared values of excellence, integrity, and collaboration,” says Neal Froneman, CEO Sibanye-Stillwater.
Unearthing people power
Over the years, the partnership has funded scholarships, bursaries, and postdoctoral fellowships for over 500 students towards careers and a future in the mining industry and beyond.
Similarly, staff development in the FEBE – which houses the School of Mining Engineering, the Wits Mining Institute, and the Sibanye-Stillwater Dig